The Art Gallery of South Australia has announced the twenty-one finalists selected for the inaugural Ramsay Art Prize – Australia’s richest prize for young contemporary artists.
The finalists are: Tony Albert (NSW), Khadim Ali (NSW), Jacobus Capone (WA), Celeste Chandler (VIC), Sarah Contos (NSW), Georgina Cue (VIC), Keg de Souza (NSW), Julie Fragar (QLD), Teelah George (WA), Natalya Hughes (NSW), Trent Jansen (NSW), Ash Keating (VIC), Owen Leong (NSW), Vincent Namatjira (SA), Joey Nganjmirra (NT), Baden Pailthorpe (NSW), Clare Peake (WA), Jason Phu (NSW), Rebecca Selleck (ACT), James Tylor (SA) and Justine Varga (NSW).
The twenty-one finalists were selected by a judging panel of contemporary art specialists including Director of the Auckland Art Gallery, Rhana Devenport, Australian artist, Nell and the Art Gallery of South Australia’s Curator of Contemporary Art, Leigh Robb.
All selected works will be exhibited in a major exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia from 27 May to 27 August 2017. The winner will be judged from the exhibition and announced on Friday 26 May 2017.
2017 Ramsay Art Prize finalists are also eligible for a People’s Choice Prize supported by sponsors Lipman Karas. Visitors to the exhibition can have their say and kick start an ambitious artist’s career by casting their vote and awarding them a $15,000 cash prize. The People’s Choice Prize is non-acquisitive.
Presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia and supported in perpetuity by the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation, the Ramsay Art Prize aims to support and encourage contemporary Australian artists to make their best work at a pivotal moment in their career.
For more information, visit: www.ramsay.artgallery.sa.gov.au for details.
Image: Celeste Chandler, Heroic Painting, 2016, oil on linen, 330 x 220 cm; Courtesy of the artist and Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne – photo by Matthew Stanton